Sony finally puts up Xperia Z for sale on US site

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Sony has finally given US customers the chance to get their hands on the unlocked version of the dustproof and waterproof Xperia Z through Sony’s web store. It’ll run you $629.99, but that’s about average for an unlocked phone. Unfortunately, though, there’s no LTE on board like the Xperia ZL, but you will be able to use the phone on AT&T and T-Mobile’s HSPA+ networks. If you have to hold out for LTE, you may want to wait for T-Mobile’s rumored LTE version. If you’re ready to open your wallet, hit the link below.

source: Sony Store

SNL has some fun at the expense of Google Glass

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Pretty much everyone thinks Google Glass is weird. It’s a really, really new kind of technology, and it kind of makes you look like a robot, so that’s understandable. Needless to say, it wasn’t going to take long before Glass started popping up in current events and pop culture jokes, and who better to kick that off than Saturday Night Live? Last night, a “tech correspondent” on the Weekend Update was showing off Google Glass. Trust me, it’s worth a look. Check out the video below. » Read the rest

Instagram adds Facebook-like photo tagging features in update

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After Facebook bought Instagram, I think we all expected there to be a little crossover in features between both services. Instagram has already introduced a location service with their photos, and now they’ve debuted a photo tagging feature called “Photos of You.” You or your friends can tag each other in pictures, and there’s now a separate section of your profile where you can view photos that you’ve been tagged in. If this sounds similar to Facebook’s photo albums, well… That’s because it is similar to Facebook’s photo albums. Fortunately, you’ve got a few days before those tagged photos go public, so you can change your privacy settings to tone down who can see what or who can tag you in photos. Hit the link below to get the update and start checking it out.

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Play Store Download Link

Verizon Galaxy Note II receiving incremental 4.1.2 update

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Verizon has started rolling out a small Android 4.1.2 OTA update for Galaxy Note II users. While there’s nothing major in the update, you do get more applications added to multiwindow, as well as the ability to change your quick toggles in display settings. Verizon is also removing the Zappos app and throwing in a handful of bug fixes across several apps. Nothing major, but definitely an update worth getting. Hit the source below to get the full changelog from Verizon.

source: Verizon Wireless

Motorola XFON leaks, shows AT&T apps installed

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Motorola’s fabled X Phone is easily one of the most speculated about devices today. It seems like every week, a new rumor pops up, and it usually conflicts with the rumor we heard the week before. Google and Motorola have effectively kept this phone a secret by leaking out tons of mismatched information.

Today, though, we have more concrete X Phone information. As in, evleaks has kindly released some pictures of a phone, running Android on AT&T’s network with the model XFON on the back. Normally, these rumors are pretty hazy, but that’s pretty clear. The phone itself doesn’t really get too friendly with the camera, as it’s boxed in some kind of case, but the picture below shows a carbon fiber backplate with a model of XFON ATT, which suggests that it definitely won’t be a Verizon exclusive. The phone shows the AT&T SIM name in the status bar, as well as AT&T’s LTE icon, and a My AT&T app in the app drawer. Aside from that, the software seems pretty bone stock, which we would naturally expect from a phone co-developed by Google.

It’s also worth mentioning that this does appear to be three different devices, as noted by the differing Motorola logos on the top of the phone. If the phone is showing up in leaks like this, hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer for an official announcement from Motorola or Google. » Read the rest

MediaTek announces dual-core MT6572 SoC for entry level smartphones

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MediaTek is best know for producing inexpensive, quality processors for cheaper smartphones, and they’ve just announced another chip to their lineup. The MT6572 system-on-a-chip is a next-generation processor for entry level phones, many of which will likely be Android devices. It’s based on a 28nm dual-core A7 CPU and boasts clock speeds up to 1.2 GHz, and can handle up to 720p video playback, along with support for 5 megapixel cameras and 540 by 960 screens. As for connectivity, it has integrated HSPA+/TD-SCDMA radios.

Nothing ground breaking here, but it’s going to be a solid chip for upcoming entry level phones. Hit the break for the press release. » Read the rest

Ingress players level 2 and up begin receiving extra invitation codes

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If you’ve been enjoying Google’s augmented reality game, Ingress, you’ll soon have the chance to invite some buddies to join the fun. The Ingress profile on Google+ has announced that all players over level 2 will be getting some invites to hand out to friends, which is great news for everyone. So if you’re already playing, get some friends on board. If you haven’t gotten an invite yet, now’s your chance to start bugging your buddies for one.

source: Google Plus

Android tablets pull ahead in Q1 2013, running on 56.5% of all tablets shipped

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IDC has released their numbers for tablet market share in the first quarter of 2013, and it looks great for Android tablets. In the first three months of the year, 27.8 million Android tablets were shipped, up 247% from Q1 last year. The 27.8 million tablets also happen to make up 56.5% of all tablets shipped during the quarter, snagging the top spot from Apple. Apple’s share dipped to 39.6%, which is almost a 20% decline in market share from the previous year. While Apple didn’t ship less tablets, (they actually shipped almost 8 million more than they did in Q1 2012) there was a significant boon in the tablet market compared to last year, and a ton of those tablets ran Android.

Obviously, this just represents one quarter of this year, which a small slice of the pie. Android tablets have a ways to go, especially in popularity and app selection, before they can really penetrate the tablet market the way Android has done with phones. Still, though, grabbing up over half of an entire market in a quarter is a huge step in the right direction.

source: IDC

Paranoid Android ROM to feature floating bubble notification system similar to Chat Heads

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One of the greatest features that Facebook has introduced recently has been the floating Chat Heads found in their messenger app. It’s a fantastic notification/multitasking system for chatting and messaging with friends on top of other applications. The developers of Paranoid Android ROM have decided to take that amazing feature and apply it to notifications across the board, whether that’s a text message, email, or any other notification. Instead of having to switch back and forth between apps, PA’s “chat heads” will let you truly multitask regardless of what you’re doing on your phone.

For the Android OS as a whole, this feature is a gigantic step forward. Multitasking has always been a strong suit for Android, but this builds on the multitasking framework in a major way. Hopefully we’ll see this feature hit more devices in the near future.

source: Phandroid

NEC Terrain leaks, headed to AT&T with Android and QWERTY keyboard

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Smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards are a dying breed, especially the ones with portrait keyboards. Despite that, AT&T appears to be planning on releasing the NEC Terrain to the masses, which is a candy bar style phone, complete with an unspecified Android version and a physical keyboard. It’s not exactly a visually appealing device, and there’s no official specs for it, but I could definitely see it as a cheap gateway phone for old Blackberry holdouts. (Believe it or not, they still exist)

We’ll just have to wait for NEC or AT&T to make this device official.

source: evleaks